Bid

Moody's makes a few changes, keeps letters

Thu, 15 May 2008 06:59:54 -0400

Moody's surveyed its customers recently, and they apparently were in favor of keeping the ratings agency's time-honored letter ratings, AAA and so forth. To many critics, these letter ratings mean little these days, but that is more rhetoric than reality. Still, the agency has some PR issues to contend with. And it is trying to make some hay with some ratings tweaks that the Financial Times has just written about. Moody's launched two new indices that would indicate how fast a security might lose a top rating if the economy changed. This is an obvious hoped-for corrective to the masses of AAA rated CDOs that suddenly ended up on the skids, resulting in mass downgrades.

For more:
- here's the Financial Times article

Microsoft-Yahoo heating up again

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:59:54 -0400

The bankers are earning their salaries on this one. Yahoo is said to be closing in on some sort of alliance with AOL, to thwart Microsoft's bid of course. Yahoo would gain control over the combined operations and get a big investment. That may allow it to start buying back some shares at close to Microsoft's offer price. Meanwhile, Microsoft, facing some pressure to boost its bid, may be joined by News Corporation, according to the New York Times. The combination would bring Yahoo and Microsoft's MSN together with MySpace to create a real juggernaut. Talks between Microsoft and News Corp are said to be underway. Of course that puts News Corp in the position of having talked to both side about possible deals.

For more:
- here's the article from TimesOnline
- here's the New York Times article

Related Articles:
Yahoo playing poker, might win. Yahoo article
Microsoft gives Yahoo a deadline deal. Microsoft article
How Yahoo could prevail. Yahoo article

Microsoft gives Yahoo a deadline

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:59:57 -0400

Until this weekend's ultimatum from Microsoft, the software giant's efforts to buy Yahoo seemed to have settled into a tactical standoff. Neither side was budging. But that's over now. Microsoft has given the Yahoo board an April 26 deadline. If a deal is not agreed to by then, Microsoft will launch a hostile offer at a lower price and a proxy war. So Yahoo would seem to be at the desperation point. On Monday, Yahoo said it still was seeking a higher offer, and that all the posturing is counterproductive. A white knight at this point does not seem likely.

For more on the ultimatum:
- here's the AP article

Related Articles:
Microsoft to wage proxy war. Article
How Yahoo could prevail. Article
Yahoo to reject Microsoft bid. Article
Hostile deal! Microsoft bids for Yahoo. Article

How Yahoo could prevail

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:59:55 -0400

Microsoft's bid-to-buy battle for Yahoo has settled into a low intensity tactical affair. It's not likely that we will see a quick solution, barring a surprise announcement by the Yahoo board that it will capitulate. Fortune sketches out one possible scenario. If Yahoo's next earnings report, due late next month, turns out to be terrific, Yang and company can use it to prove that it can either make it alone, or that it deserves a higher price. Fortune notes that in a similar situation, BEA surprised everyone with strong earnings that prompted Oracle to boost its bid by $1 billion.

For more:
- here's the article

Related Articles:
How much is Yahoo worth? Article
Yahoo's options dwindle. Article
Yahoo to reject Microsoft bid. Article
Microsoft-Yahoo: Investment bank bonanza. Article
Hostile deal! Microsoft bids for Yahoo. Article